POCSA
Voluntary Sector Training Pack
And Guide

When to discipline a worker:

When is it appropriate to discipline a worker because of misconduct against a child or young person?

A Code of Conduct sets out acceptable and unacceptable standards of behaviour.

Where a worker’s behaviour is unacceptable, it is important that s/he understands the consequences of this. Most of us do not find it easy to challenge the behaviour of the individuals we work with.

• It can feel even more difficult when a situation requires us to question, discipline and sometimes dismiss someone. When dealing with a situation of alleged misconduct of a worker towards a child/young person you should ensure that:· all workers (both paid and volunteer) have an opportunity to respond to the allegation;
• any actions you take are within the law;
• any sanctions used are proportionate in relation to the circumstances of the incident and are in line with your disciplinary procedure;
• all decisions made, and the reasons behind them, are recorded;

all information about an individual worker is processed in line with the requirements of the Managing and Sharing Confidential Information as Required under Police Act Part V and Data Protection.

The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 requires your organisation to decide if a worker’s actions have been harmful or placed a child at risk of harm. The example Scenario's explore the types of questions to consider when processing concerns about individual workers/volunteers which should help organisations consider an allegation of misconduct in a measured and systematic way.

It is important to remember that in all situations involving concerns about a child or young person’s safety, his/her welfare should always be the paramount concern.